Verken Afrika—kundig, toeganklik en verder
Expedition leadership • Accessible travel planning & companioning • Travel photography • Talks & workshops 30+ YEARS EXPERIERNCE - 34 AFRICAN COUNTRIES
MY BLOGS
SHARE THE THRILLS! Tales of travel, light, and humanity — shared from a lifetime on the road.
Op die eiland Lamu, waar nou straatjies fluisteringe vinniger as voetstappe dra, is daar 'n storie wat hulle stilweg vertel. 'n Meisie. 'n Troue wat nooit plaasgevind het nie. En voetspore in die sand by Shela-strand wat net een kant toe gaan.
Lees Meer'n Intieme foto-essay van Sir Lowry's Pass Village in die Wes-Kaap, wat gemeenskapslewe, straatkuns en kinderspeletjies net buite Kaapstad verken.
Lees MeerIn 'n oorvol wêreld waar persoonlike ruimte luuksheid word en stede pols met chaos, besin Vivie oor oorbevolking, vervaagde landelike ritmes, ongelykheid langs Kaapstad se N2, en wat ware eenvoud – ruimte, stilte, grond – werklik vandag beteken. 'n Sagte pouse van reis na stilte.
Lees MeerOntdek hoekom toeganklike reise in Afrika verder gaan as net kontrolelyste – dit gaan oor werklike menslike kapasiteit, waardigheid en aanpassing op die grond vir ouer reisigers en onsigbare behoeftes. Veldgebaseerde insigte uit Kaapstad.
Lees MeerKenia deur my oë — plekke waarna ek teruggekeer het, oomblikke wat bly voortduur, en hoekom hierdie land my steeds terugtrek.
Lees MeerToeganklike reise in Afrika gaan nie oor kontrolelyste of opritte nie – dit gaan oor teenwoordigheid, tempo en werklike menslike oordeel. Van verborge behoeftes soos moegheid en angs tot afgeleë bosrealiteite, ontdek waarom 'n kalm metgesel dikwels die grootste verskil maak. 'n Sagte besinning oor waardigheid, aanpasbaarheid en om Afrika se wilde uithoeke werklik bereikbaar te maak.
Lees MeerDie Piramides van Giza – vergeet die uitheemse teorieë. Hierdie is 'n storie oor menslike briljantheid, moeite en geloof.
Lees MeerEk deel wat ek geleer het toe ek in Kaïro aangekom het – nie as 'n eerstekeerbesoeker nie, maar as 'n reisiger wat weet om waar te neem voordat hy vertrek.
Lees MeerEk is geëerd om op die voorblad van Glow Talks Magazine (November 2025-uitgawe) te verskyn. Hierdie artikel volg my reis van Kaapstad tot Kaïro – deur fotografie, mense en plekke wat hul merk laat lank nadat monumente vervaag. Die storie gaan oor moed, nuuskierigheid en om vorentoe te beweeg met 'n kamera in die hand.
Lees Meer'n Seunkoning, nie 'n legende in goud nie. Reisskrywer Vivie ontleed Toetankamen se ware verhaal – inteling, pyn, politiek en mag – van GEM tot die Vallei van die Konings.
Lees MeerOm lig te reis is meer as net 'n paklys – dis 'n denkwyse. Iewers tussen Afrika, Indië en Europa het ek lywige tasse verruil vir een 42L-rugsak wat alles dra wat ek vir twee maande op die pad nodig het. In hierdie blog deel ek presies wat ek pak, hoe ek gemaklik en presentabel bly, en hoekom "minder" stilweg "meer as genoeg" geword het.
Lees MeerOOR
Ek was nog nooit een vir die maklike roete nie.
Welcome to VivienneGunning.com.
Expedition leader. Story-seeker. Photographer of the quiet and the wild.
This website is my digital campfire.
You won’t find glossy perfection here. But you will find stories shaped by dust, silence, colour, chaos, heartbreak, and wonder — shared through photographs and words gathered over a lifetime in motion.
This space is not about travel tips. It's about what travel does to you.
To travel is not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
I am Vivienne Gunning — senior expedition leader, photographer, artist, and observer of the human spirit. For more than 25 years my professional life has unfolded in the field: on expedition routes, in remote lodges, on airstrips far from infrastructure, in places where calm judgement matters more than bravado. I don't rush Africa. I understand its rhythms, its unpredictability, and the quiet signals only experience teaches you to read.
Over the years, my work has included expedition leadership, hospitality and lodge management, aviation-related operational support, crisis coordination, and guest care at a high level of responsibility. These experiences have shaped the way I travel — and the way I guide others.
EXPEDITION LEADERSHIP 25+ years leading complex African expeditions for Bushtracks Expeditions and National Geographic. 100+ private charters across 33 countries.
AVIATION OPERATIONS ACMI and charter logistics, customs, permits, and cross-border operations in remote and high-risk settings.
ACCESSIBLE TRAVEL Specialist companioning and itinerary design for solo, senior, and mobility-considerate travellers across Africa.
PHOTOGRAPHY Professionally trained (UCT, 2025). Fine-art and travel photography — instinctive, emotionally led.
Accessible travel, when done properly, is not about limitation. It is about possibility, presence, and care — grounded in realism, empathy, and experience, not promises or assumptions.
If something here resonates, please write to me at gunningvivienne@gmail.com — I'd love to hear from you.
Follow my current work:
Instagram:
@viviegunning: https://www.instagram.com/viviegunning/
@VNGwild: https://www.instagram.com/vngwild/
Facebook:
Vivienne Gunning: https://www.facebook.com/vivienne.gunning.96/
Vivie Gunning Explorer: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AwXDQb1HY/
Expedition leader. Story-seeker. Photographer of the quiet and the wild.
This website is my digital campfire.
You won’t find glossy perfection here. But you will find stories shaped by dust, silence, colour, chaos, heartbreak, and wonder — shared through photographs and words gathered over a lifetime in motion.
This space is not about travel tips. It's about what travel does to you.
To travel is not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
I am Vivienne Gunning — senior expedition leader, photographer, artist, and observer of the human spirit. For more than 25 years my professional life has unfolded in the field: on expedition routes, in remote lodges, on airstrips far from infrastructure, in places where calm judgement matters more than bravado. I don't rush Africa. I understand its rhythms, its unpredictability, and the quiet signals only experience teaches you to read.
Over the years, my work has included expedition leadership, hospitality and lodge management, aviation-related operational support, crisis coordination, and guest care at a high level of responsibility. These experiences have shaped the way I travel — and the way I guide others.
EXPEDITION LEADERSHIP 25+ years leading complex African expeditions for Bushtracks Expeditions and National Geographic. 100+ private charters across 33 countries.
AVIATION OPERATIONS ACMI and charter logistics, customs, permits, and cross-border operations in remote and high-risk settings.
ACCESSIBLE TRAVEL Specialist companioning and itinerary design for solo, senior, and mobility-considerate travellers across Africa.
PHOTOGRAPHY Professionally trained (UCT, 2025). Fine-art and travel photography — instinctive, emotionally led.
Accessible travel, when done properly, is not about limitation. It is about possibility, presence, and care — grounded in realism, empathy, and experience, not promises or assumptions.
If something here resonates, please write to me at gunningvivienne@gmail.com — I'd love to hear from you.
Follow my current work:
Instagram:
@viviegunning: https://www.instagram.com/viviegunning/
@VNGwild: https://www.instagram.com/vngwild/
Facebook:
Vivienne Gunning: https://www.facebook.com/vivienne.gunning.96/
Vivie Gunning Explorer: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AwXDQb1HY/
DIENSTE
Senior Ekspedisieleierskap (Afrika)
Met meer as 30 jaar ondervinding in 33 Afrikalande, bring ek ongeëwenaarde diepte van kennis, kulturele begrip en kundigheid op die grond na elke reis.
Accessible & Assisted Travel Companion
Privaat, realistiese reisplanne — en opsionele persoonlike begeleiding — vir reisigers wat meer tyd, hulp of gerusstelling benodig. Reis teen jou eie pas, met kalm ondersteuning en grondervaring. Stuur vir my 'n boodskap op WhatsApp om te begin.
Leer Meer
Op maat gemaakte Afrika-reise | Vivienne Gunning
Elke reis moet 'n storie vertel – joune. Of jy nou stilte of opwinding, eensaamheid of viering soek, ek ontwerp reise wat jou ritme weerspieël – handgemaak, deeglik en diep persoonlik. Elke reisplan meng ontdekking met detail, kuns met logistiek en egtheid met gemak – want reis moet voel asof dit vir jou gemaak is.
Photography, Talks & Storytelling
Saam met ekspedisie- en reiswerk bied ek reis- en natuurlewefotografie, praatjies en veldgebaseerde storievertelling aan, gevorm deur dekades se geleefde ervaring regoor Afrika en verder. My praatjies is motiverend en ervaringsgedrewe, met 'n besondere fokus op die aanmoediging van vroue om hul eie krag, selfvertroue en onafhanklikheid deur reis en lewensverkenning te ontdek. Deur te steun op werklike reise, uitdagings, heruitvinding en veerkragtigheid, praat ek eerlik oor vrees, moed, selfvertroue en die stil krag om verder te tree as wat bekend voel. Hierdie sessies is nie teoreties of geskrewe nie. Hulle is gegrond op werklike situasies – die navigasie van onbekende kulture, afgeleë omgewings, persoonlike oorgange en die oomblikke wat selfvertroue toets. Praatjies en aanbiedings is geskik vir: • Vrouegroepe en -klubs • Reis- en kulturele forums • Korporatiewe of organisatoriese geleenthede • Opvoedkundige instellings en werkswinkels Fotografie- en storievertellingselemente kan in aanbiedings verweef word, wat 'n visuele en emosionele narratief skep wat ervaring met insig verbind.
ACCESSIBLE & ASSISTED TRAVEL
ACCESSIBLE AND ASSITED TRAVEL
"Accessible travel, when done properly, is not about limitation. It is about possibility, presence, and care."— VIVIENNE GUNNING
Trusted on-the-ground leadership for travellers who need more than a booking
I design and personally accompany accessible and assisted journeys across Africa for tour operators, travel organisations, and private clients.
My work supports guests who require:
MOBILITY SUPPORT
Honest assessments, adapted logistics, and dignified on-ground care.
MEDICAL AWARENESS
Experience with chronic conditions, fatigue, anxiety, and invisible needs.
MEDICAL AWARENESS
Experience with chronic conditions, fatigue, anxiety, and invisible needs.
SOLO TRAVELLERS
A calm, experienced presence for those travelling without companions.
Whether you need a travel companion, full itinerary design, or simply honest advice on what's actually possible — I'm here.
"Accessible travel, when done properly, is not about limitation. It is about possibility, presence, and care."— VIVIENNE GUNNING
Trusted on-the-ground leadership for travellers who need more than a booking
I design and personally accompany accessible and assisted journeys across Africa for tour operators, travel organisations, and private clients.
My work supports guests who require:
MOBILITY SUPPORT
Honest assessments, adapted logistics, and dignified on-ground care.
MEDICAL AWARENESS
Experience with chronic conditions, fatigue, anxiety, and invisible needs.
MEDICAL AWARENESS
Experience with chronic conditions, fatigue, anxiety, and invisible needs.
SOLO TRAVELLERS
A calm, experienced presence for those travelling without companions.
Whether you need a travel companion, full itinerary design, or simply honest advice on what's actually possible — I'm here.
FOTOGRAFIE
KUNS
Deur verf vertaal ek die emosies wat reis agterlaat.
REVIEWS
WAT KLIËNTE SÊ VERTROUE GEBOU OOR 'N LEWENSTYD IN BEWEGING
Esther Murray: Bbakamemaw@aol.com
Accessible Egypt & Africa itineraries (Age 86)Vivienne was 'n geskenk uit die hemel vir my. Sy het my gehelp om dinge te bereik wat ek nooit sonder haar en haar kundige hulp sou kon doen nie. Sy het 'n wonderwerk verrig toe dit by my kom om Egipte toe te gaan om die piramides te sien. Dit was die laaste ding op my wenslys en op 86-jarige ouderdom het ek gedink dit was onmoontlik. Nie so nie. Vivi het dit moontlik gemaak en op die wonderlikste manier. Sy het elke detail tot perfeksie georganiseer en beplan. Haar geselskap en opbouende gees het dit 'n reis van 'n leeftyd gemaak. Ek was al regoor die wêreld en in al sewe kontinente en het saam met baie mense gereis, maar as ek die keuse kon hê om dit weer te doen, is Vivi die een saam met wie ek dit sou wou doen. Sy laat nooit toe dat enigiets haar keer nie. As iets verkeerd geloop het, het ek nooit daarvan geweet nie. Sy het dit met grasie en kennis hanteer. Ek het drie reise saam met haar onderneem en daar was nooit een oomblik dat ek bekommerd of besorg gevoel het nie. Net om haar te ken, het my lewe verryk.
Suzette Nieuwoudt
Voormalige tussentydse uitvoerende direkteur, SAOG-lugvaartveiligheidstoesigorganisasie / projekkoördineerder ICAO COSCAP-SAOGVivienne is 'n spesialis in haar veld met dekades se ondervinding in lugvaart wat wissel van die vind van die beste geskikte vliegtuig vir "vlieënde safari's", die lei van ekspedisies en die bestuur van logistiek. Om op 'n artistieke wyse na elke detail van die toergroep se behoeftes te kyk, kom vanself, terwyl dit haar positiewe energie deel om elke ekspedisie en elke avontuur af te rond as 'n "once in a lifetime experience"! Bravo Vivienne, jy lei deur voorbeeld!
David Tett
Stigter en uitvoerende hoof, Bushtracks ExpeditionsJanuary 30, 2026 Vivienne Gunning Cape Town, South Africa gunningvivienne@gmail.com Dear Sir or Madam, It is a pleasure to recommend Vivienne Gunning, whose outstanding performance and long-standing contribution to Bushtracks Expeditions have consistently exceeded expectations and earned the trust of our most discerning travelers. Over a period of 25 years, Vivienne has demonstrated exceptional versatility, developing management capabilities across a wide range of complex operational, aviation, expedition, and project-based roles within our organization. She initially supported Bushtracks with highly complex ACMI, long-haul, multi-stop airliner charters across Africa, including routes from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa, Cape Town to Casablanca, and a circumnavigation of North Africa and the Sahara aboard a private VIP Boeing 737. Her responsibilities included end-to-end flight planning, securing overflight and landing permits, contracting airport ground handlers, coordinating onboard catering and cabin crew, managing fueling logistics, and maintaining high passenger service standards throughout. Building on her success in aviation charter management, Vivienne progressed to become our most experienced Expedition Leader, completing more journeys, serving more guests, and operating across more destinations than any other leader in our organization. In parallel, she developed strong project management expertise, most notably leading the establishment of a 50-bed Moroccan Caidal tented camp in the Sahara Desert in Niger. This included designing, setting up, and managing a highly successful remote field kitchen capable of delivering high-quality meals to private jet guests in an extremely challenging environment. Vivienne later managed another demanding remote assignment: our contract with Doli (Elephant) Lodge in the Central African Republic. This project required her to plan and source fittings and soft furnishings in South Africa and the CAR, oversee transport into a remote rainforest location, creatively refurbish the lodge and its landscaping within a strict budget, train and uniform staff, and train the chef and kitchen team while implementing a structured weekly menu system. In subsequent years, Vivienne led numerous Southern Africa Private Air Safaris for National Geographic Expeditions, contributing significantly to a highly successful 17-year partnership that concluded in 2024. Most recently, she personally escorted a mature Bushtracks guest with restricted mobility through Egypt, demonstrating exceptional care, sensitivity, and attention to detail—qualities that continue to distinguish Vivienne in the delivery of bespoke, high-touch travel experiences. In summary, I recommend Vivienne Gunning without reservation for a suitable role within the tourism, expedition, or luxury travel industry. She is a deeply committed professional who combines operational rigor with empathy, leadership, and consistent accountability. Sincerely, David Tett Founder & CEO Bushtracks Expeditions
